Seahawks DE Jadaveon Clowney shares childhood challenges to support local kids

SEATTLE -- We have all seen Seahawks defensive end Jadaveon Clowney tear down opposing offenses.But away from football, he's building bonds with kids who have a parent locked up in prison, and he has a very personal reason for investing in them.Clowney has delivered some of the Seahawks' most memorable plays of the season.

'I didn't come up easy': Seahawks DE Jadeveon Clowney delivers holiday surprise for kids in Tukwila

TUKWILA, Wash. -- Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney knows what it's like to grow up without a father: his own dad was in prison for much of Clowney's childhood.That's what made it all the more special Tuesday when he connected with 26 kids, many of whom have incarcerated parents, for an event called Jingle-A-Thon with Jadeveon.Clowney teamed up with Big Brothers Big Sisters Puget Sound to surprise the kids with $200 gift cards for a shopping spree at the Southcenter Target store in Tukwila."With this platform, I want to try to use it to the best of my ability to give back to kids, to let them know it’s a story behind this, it’s not just, I get to the NFL," Clowney said. "I want them to know I didn’t come up easy … No matter your situation right now, in 10, 12 years from now, all of that can change."Clowney and Big Brothers Big Sisters also sent the kids off with new backpacks filled with school supplies and Seahawks swag.He said he wanted to make sure these kids, who have been through so much, have a happy holiday season.

Seahawks lift Green Beret to return to battlefield, he repays the gift

To watch the story click: Story on Seahawks lifting Green Beret to return to battlefieldSEATTLE -- Green Beret Ryan Hendrickson says in his darkest days, the Seahawks were there for him.For the 41-year-old member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, his deep connection with his favorite team began half a world away, in Afghanistan in 2010, when Hendrickson stepped on an improvised explosive device.“The explosion and the flash happened," Hendrickson said. "I remember I was on the ground.